News And Articles – Page 2 – Christian Couples Fellowship (CCF)

CCF 2025 Retreat Closes in Miango

The 2025 Christian Couples’ Fellowship Retreat came to a close on Sunday, August 17, at the Miango Rest Home in Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State. The retreat opened on Thursday, August 14, with an Opening Charge delivered by Rev. Dr. David Pofi. His message, titled “Christian Marriage Is for Life,” served as a precursor to the main theme of the 2025 retreat: “Purpose-Driven Christian Home.”

Taking his scripture reading from Matthew 19:1–10, Rev. Pofi emphasized that God’s central purpose for marriage is rooted in fellowship with Him, companionship between husband and wife, procreation, and the raising of godly offspring.

He went on to stress that in Christian marriage, there is no room for divorce. Unfortunately, he noted, many Christians today readily advise others to seek divorce whenever challenges arise in their marriage. He defined divorce as “divided voices”—a situation where husband and wife fail to agree on important matters such as which church to attend, how to manage finances, or how to discipline their children.

Dr. Pofi explained that divorce is rarely a one-day decision; rather, it is the result of accumulated wrongs over time, compounded by unforgiveness. He identified stubbornness and hardness of heart as the primary causes of marital breakdown. In closing, he encouraged couples to make it a consistent prayer point, asking God to soften their hardened hearts and replace them with hearts of flesh.

He then read Matthew 7:21–23, explaining that if Jesus Christ is not truly the Lord of your life, He cannot be your Savior. Some people may have been Christians for decades, yet remain spiritual infants. He asked, “Is there a heaven for hard-hearted people?” The answer, he said, is no.

Turning to the secondary causes of divorce, he cited Matthew 19:3. These include constant fault-finding in a spouse, selfishness that ignores the differences between male and female, and a lack of adjustment—when couples fail to grow from their single habits into married life. He stressed that in Christian marriage, both husband and wife must be willing to adjust if they are to fulfill God’s purpose.

He also noted the danger of lacking oneness of purpose, especially in managing finances or disciplining children. He concluded by stating, “Divorce is stepping out of God’s will into Moses’ permitted will, caused by the stubbornness and hardness of hearts. It is easier and far less costly to prevent a divorce than to endure one.”

Dr. Falope urges Christian couples to build purpose-driven marriages

Every woman entering marriage must do so with the mindset of being a helper—because the man requires help, and he, in turn, must be willing to accept it. To truly fulfill this role, a wife must understand her husband—his background, temperament, and uniqueness.

At the 2025 Christian Couples Fellowship retreat, Guest Speaker Dr. Segun Falope urged husbands to live with their wives in understanding, recognizing that their wives come from different backgrounds and experiences. “If a man is truly made, the home will be great,” he concluded.

A purpose-driven marriage, Dr. Falope explained, is ordained by God to raise godly offspring. “You can only produce your kind—that is why you must first be built by God,” he said, citing Malachi 2:15 to encourage couples to provide a conducive environment for their children’s well-being. He stressed that raising godly children requires time, attention, and balance between home responsibilities and other pursuits. He advised couples to attend school programs together and be actively involved in monitoring their children’s growth, noting that “to carry children in your bosom is to carry them in your heart.”

Dr. Falope also emphasized that sexual fulfillment within marriage is an integral part of a purpose-driven home. He cautioned couples not to reduce intimacy to material transactions or defile it by introducing pornography or perverse practices. “Sex is a powerful glue in marriage,” he said. To husbands, he warned against infidelity, urging them not to “drink water from another man’s well.”

Purpose, not competition, defines marriage – Dr. Falope at 2025 CCF Retreat

An important truth couples should understand is that it was God who made the woman for the man. The man was not created for the woman, but the woman for the man, said Dr. Segun Falope, who was speaking at the 2025 Christian Couples Fellowship retreat.

For a Christian home to be purpose-driven, both husband and wife must recognize the divine purpose behind their union. It is God’s purpose that defines a marriage—because it is purpose that determines design, he said, adding that just as a man is designed according to God’s purpose, so also is a woman.

Dr. Falope explained that God did not make a mate for the man, but a help meet for him. Before God, man and woman are equal, yet their roles are complementary. “Mates compete,” he cautioned. “When you see your wife as a mate, there will always be the temptation of rivalry, conflict, and struggle. But partners meet. Your wife is not your mate in the boxing ring.”

For a woman, challenges in marriage should never be a reason to give up. “Your role as a wife is superior to your profession and even to your parents, because you were not made for them but for your husband,” Dr. Falope emphasized. He added that a wife must not substitute her children for her husband, noting, “That is why a woman cannot say, ‘I am staying in this marriage just because of my children.’ You are called to live for a divine purpose. You are God’s solution to your husband’s aloneness. When you understand this, you begin to live for a higher purpose.”

Christian couples urged to harness the creative power of their words

Christian couples have been reminded of the creative and destructive power resident in their tongues. “The problems of the world are what we call them,” said Dr. Segun Falope, Guest Speaker at the 2025 annual retreat of the Christian Couples Fellowship in Miango.

Drawing from Genesis 2:18–25, Dr. Falope explained that it was what Adam called each living creature that established its character and identity. Yet, despite this God-given creative authority, no suitable helper was found until God made a woman from Adam’s rib—whom he also named woman, for she was taken out of him.

Dr. Falope urged Christian couples to recognize that “calling” is an act of work and authority. He cautioned them to be mindful of the words they use with each other, emphasizing that what you call your spouse is what he or she will become. He concluded by admonishing men never to demean their wives by calling them names such as “foolish” or “witch,” but instead to treat them with honor and respect if they desire to build and sustain a purpose-driven Christian home.

CCF 2024 Retreat: Christian couples not growing is synonymous with calamity – Gyarta Pofi

CHRISTIAN couples have been called upon to examine themselves to know if they are growing. Mrs. Gyarta Pofi, who spoke on “Growing Together in Christian Marriage – Talk 2” at the just concluded retreat, said after reeling out the indexes to show couples that are growing and those that are not growing, that self-assessment would help to check oneself under God.

“If you do, you have begun well. And when you are growing, you are becoming like Jesus, which is the reason for your salvation,” she said, adding that “growing in grace is synonymous with becoming more like Jesus, and not growing is synonymous with calamity.”

Citing Genesis 1:27, she enjoined couples to know their spouses and make every effort to make their spouses happy as a way of enhancing their growth in Christian marriage. “Unity is not uniformity. Your wife is not a man, and your husband is not a woman. Don’t try to change it, rather create room to understand each other,” Mrs. Pofi advised.

Mrs. Pofi, emphasized while stressing that obedience to the word of God makes couples wise because winds, rains, storms and floods of life are inevitable but the results of these will always determine whether the couples are wise or foolish.

The theme of this year’s retreat is “Growing Together in Christian Marriage.